Where Wood Works in Colorado, July 2011

This is the second in the Where Wood Works series created to communicate the essence of wood biomass to a non-technical audience of decisions makers (including the general public – my favorite decision makers).

I produced this edition for the Colorado State Forest Service. The booklet provides a high-level overview of wood biomass (wood chips and wood pellets), the projects around Colorado that are working, and the key factors in creating a successful wood heating project.

Most of my projects are collaborations with my clients. This is no exception. I worked with CSFS to create the storyboard, then I went off and made the needed photographs (and some just for fun), designed the document, and wrote many of the technical sections.

Idea Wild, January 2011

Late 2010, a friend and fellow Aikido practitioner, Wall van Sickle and I were having a beer (you may notice a theme, here) and he was telling me about is amazing non-profit, Idea Wild.

Long story short. I contributed this 40-page book to his organization to help promote his efforts. So far, so good!

Idea Wild runs a micro-grant program funding field biologist in ecological hotspots around the world. In developing nations, $500 or a $1,000 worth of data collection equipment makes a huge difference. And so does Wally and his team.

Mountain Park Environmental Center Biomass Project, July 2009

In early 2007, Dave Van Manen contacted me through the Governor's Energy Office to learn about using biomass (wood) to heat their 14,000 sq. ft. WPA era building camp lodge.

Early 2009, Dave lit the match that started his biomass system that heats the building and provide hot water for showers.

This stuff really works!

And here's a pro bono promotion piece I made for this camp.

Salvation Army Camp Biomass Project, February 2009 (link to the Colorado Governor's Energy Office, GEO).

For the past 3-years I've been shepherding a wood-as-fuel project at the Salvation Army's High Peak Camp outside of Estes Park, Colorado. I proposed this project - replacing increasingly expensive propane with on-site waste wood - to the Colorado Wood program (CSFS) and the Colorado Governor's Energy Office because it just looked like a great application of clean boiler technology. And that its success would send a positive message to other mountain camps and resorts.

In August, 2008, we lit the match that started the test run.

Flexible Energy Communities Initiative (FLECI), 2006-2009

If your community is planning a new building and you the economics for on-site renewables like biomass and solar just don't work out, don't give up.

We've created a design assistance program to help you make your new building Wood Ready and Solar Ready (and a few other cool technologies).

Can't say Yes today? Well, say Yes tomorrow.

Here are the key documents I created for the Colorado Governor's Energy Office:

Flex Energy Handbook

Flex Energy eWorkbook

Mountain Studies Institute, Silverton, Colorado, 2005-2007

We created this project on a shoestring budget to create a successful example on how wood pellets from regional forest treatment can be used to economically replace propane in Colorado's mountain communities (and lots of other places).

U.S. Representative John Salazar was the guest of honor at the world's first pellet bag opening ceremony. To change the world, I believe you must tell an authentic and shareable story (I learned this from my favorite marketing guru Seth Godin).

Wood Pellet Market Analysis for the Mountain Ute Tribe, November 2007

This 9-page report describes the regional pellet market for the Four Corner area that might be one day served by a tribal pellet mill. I created this with Carla Harper on behalf of the US Forest Service.

Woody Biomass Project Assessment for the Little Colorado River Plateau RC&D, April 2008

4-page Marketing Perspective.

The Biomass Adventures, Earth Day, April 22nd, 2009

This is a HUGE file, but it is a pretty big idea, too. This is a fun document that chronicles the past 5-years of the efforts of MottainaiColorado.org (I'm one is its cofounders) to establish a link between Colorado and Japan using wood biomass. It started when I realized that if I wanted to do some cool US-Japan project work related to the New Energy Economy here in Colorado, I'd have to help create those projects myself.

This is a 16-page booklet describes successful uses of wood-as-fuel for public buildings. I created this with Carla Harper on behalf of the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

There are lots of technical papers out there that don't get read. And there are lots of fluffy color brochures that don't have much to say.

This unique publication is both enjoyable to look through and full of solid technical information. And guess what? People like to have information presented in a way that respects their time and intelligence.

It was a lot of fun to create, and I hope you find it fun to read.

NEWS FLASH (12/2008): The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) as just printed an additional 6,000 copies (now totaling 13,000 copies in print).